The Seed and the Story: CAAH and Arkansas Seed Swaps

2011 Russellville Seed Swap. Photo by author

The Seed and the Story is a bi-weekly column exploring folklife, sustainability, oral history, human rights,and community in Yell County, Arkansas.   The column is published in the Post Dispatch and is syndicated in the Courier.  Please remember to support your local paper and independent media!

You can follow the Boiled Down Juice on Facebook and Twitter.  If you enjoy our posts, please tell a friend. And thanks for reading!

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Beginning earlier this month the organization CAAH (Conserving Arkansas’ Agricultural Heritage) began their yearly series of Seed Swaps across the state.  With the motto “One for the cutworm, one for the crow, one to share and one to grow,” the organization seeks to preserve both the agricultural folkways of Arkansas and the seeds themselves, many of which have been in families for generations.

They operate a Seed Bank on campus at the University of Central Arkansas, studying and preserving the genetic diversity of regional seeds and host twelve statewide swaps, providing a space where community members can trade heirloom seeds and gardening knowledge, sharing the wealth with both fellow community members and the CAAH organization.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting project leader Dr. Brian Campbell and hear him speak about this project and his other work, and I attended the Russellville Swap last year.  Regardless if you’re a master gardener with decades of experience or a person who’s never put a thing in the ground but posses an interest in learning more about growing your own food, CAAH is an excellent resource.

They seek to raise awareness about the problems with crop monoculture, wherein regional heirloom seeds are replaced by hybrids, the seeds patented and owned by major corporations.  As growers shift to these seeds, the regional ones die out, taking with them genetic diversity, regional traditions and a hardiness to local conditions. Just take the example of tomatoes.  There are only few varieties sold in grocery stores but literally hundreds of different heirloom tomatoes you can grow at home, ranging from pink to green to yellow and each with their own unique taste.  Heirloom gardening opens up a whole new world of eating.

Last year when I attended the swap in Russellville there were several people who brought seeds to give away and an even larger group of folks who just wanted to meet other gardeners in the area, many of whom were starting their first plots.  I came home with some okra seed, daffodil bulbs, a hummingbird vine, and French melon seeds, all of which have done well. If you have seeds passed down in your community, donating some to CAAH is an excellent way to make sure they never die out.  But don’t feel like you have to have seeds to swap to attend the event. It’s for everyone, gardener or not.

The event in Russellville will take place on the 25^th of this month at All Saints Episcopal Church from 10:00-1:00.  If you miss the Russellville event, you can make it to the Conway swap on Sunday the 26th 1:30-3:00 at the Faulkner County Library.   You can check out the full list of swaps below.

You can read more about CAAH and learn what’s in their Seed Bank here: www.arkansasagro.wordpress.com.  If you want to read more about last year’s swap and see a few more photos, go here. If you have seeds that have been passed down to you, I’d really love to hear about them!  I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for spring.  What are you going to be growing?

“Hand of Man” Video About Mountain Top Removal

Music for the Mountains cd. Released 2011.

The band Magnolia Mountain recently released a video for their song “Hand of Man” about the horrors of Appalachian mountaintop removal.  The song appears on the Music for the Mountains compilation cd, which was released last year (to read about that project go here).

According to the band’s web page, the video took about a year to make. It’s filled with footage detailing the destruction that comes from this form of coal mining, including reference to high cancer rates and polluted waterways.  The video takes its cues from a long history of Appalachian organizing.

From Jeff Bigger’s post in the Huffington Post:

The Hand of Man” takes the listener to White Star Holler in Kentucky, where seven generations of mountain families have struggled to defend their lives and livelihoods from the toxic fallout from coal company destruction:

White Star Holler was my home
Shared the crops that we had grown
Shared the water from our well
Shared the life we loved so well
Coal men brought the mountain down
Leaked their poison underground
Mother, neighbor, friend, and son
Cancer took them, every one  (to read the whole post go here)

The band is asking that this video be shared far and wide to spread the word about mountaintop removal.  Want to know and/or get involved?  Visit I Love Mountains.org and be sure and check out the work of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.

Monday Music: Mariee Sioux “Wild Eyes.”

Mariee Sioux from Know Phase.

I’ve decided there’s far too little music on this blog.  So here’s a new series: Music Monday.

Every Monday I’ll post a Youtube video of a song we’ve been loving.  Some will be new, some will be old, maybe even really old.  Some might even be brand new, though, truth be told, I like to explore music a little after the sheen has worn off.  Some will be based on traditional music and/or social action or sustainability and some won’t.  Hopefully they will all be fun to listen to and illuminate some of the undercurrents of this little ever-evolving blog.

I stumbled onto the music of Mariee Sioux via a duet she did with Alele Diane.  This is what her label, Grass Roots Records Company, says about her album Faces in the Rocks. 

Featuring Grammy-nominee Gentle Thunder’s enchanting sound on a redwood-carved Native American flute as well as her own famed father Gary Sobonya on mandolin, Mariee recorded Faces in May 2007 with a troupe of Nevada City’s talented musicians. Recorded with the intent of aligning the magnificence of the human voice with the universe’s creative energy, each song is a stirring exploration of life. Her tales range from the profundity of friendship on the single “Friendboats” to the yearning of self-understanding on “Bundles,” each laced with fabled images and poignant verse. “Two Tongues at One Time,” recently released on a rare 7” vinyl, is a sonnet-filled homage to the ancestors who traversed the wild lands of America hundreds of years ago, reminding listeners of our vital ties to our past. (Read her entire bio here). 

I haven’t heard all her stuff yet (some of it’s kind of hard to get a hold of), but, honestly, I haven’t had time to listen even if I had copies because I’m finding it quite difficult to get past this song.  I just keep hitting replay.  The repetition of phrases, building harmonies, it all gets better with each listen.  Headphones add a lot too.   See what you think.

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap Box Documentary

Dr. Bronner.

While scanning the Netflix streaming options last night in search for a good documentary to accompany my evening knitting, I came across Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox.  Produced by Sara Lamm in 2007, it’s both an exploration of eccentric beliefs and a profile of a social responsible company.  If you’ve already seen it I’d love to hear your take on it .

You’re probably familiar with the soap, or more so its label, a jumbled series of prophetically sounding run-on sentences about hard work, moral ABCs, and God, all culminating in the phrase, “All-one!”    A master soap maker who lost his parents in the Holocaust, Dr. Bronner escaped from a mental institution before traveling the U.S. selling his soap and, more specifically, the message printed on the bottle. His teachings were a mixture of astronomy, religion (specifically the unification of all faiths), and social commentary, specifically the belief in equality of all humankind.

The documentary centers around Bronner’s youngest son, Ralph Bronner, who travels the United States telling the story of his father and his belief in what he dubbed the “moral ABCs.”  According to the film producers, “68-year-old Ralph endured over 15 orphanages and foster homes as a child, but despite difficult memories, is his father’s most ardent fan.”

It’s a compelling film, unraveling the character of Dr. Bronner from the man himself, a flawed human who put his belief in the need to “unite spaceship earth” above his own children.  Although slow-moving at times with less than perfect footage, the film does a great job teasing out the wisdom of Dr. Bronner’s teachings from his numerous shortcomings as both a visionary and a father.

What I found most fascinating about the documentary (besides an inside look at an eccentric self-proclaimed rabbi), were the slivers of information about his descendants who run the company today.  Ralph is clearly more emotionally complex then he ever lets on, and the film follows his travels as he attempts to connect with strangers, striving to bring his father’s legacy to new generation even as he seeks out his own identity. He meets a New York subway worker and talks of the beauty of the common man. He befriends a piano player who’s caring for his dying friend. Somehow the legacy of soap continues to serve as a window to our common humanity and underlying eccentricities.  (You can read Ralph’s response to the film here).

Alongside Ralph’s bittersweet tale is a glimpse into how the company is run today, the product of Bronner’s relatives who clearly have a deep respect for the man even as they live with troubling memories.  Everything within the business is operated under Fair Trade agreements, workers are paid incredibly well, and the operation focuses on environmental, economic, and social sustainability.  The family doesn’t go around preaching Bronner’s teachings, but rather apply some of the more accessible policies of what Bronner dubbed “constructive capitalism.” According to the film, all of the Bronner descendants have “capped their salaries so that they make no more than five times that of the lowest paid employee.”

Have you seen the film?  What are your thoughts?

You can read more information from the fim’s creator here.

Also check out her interview on NPR here.

Oxford American Offices Open in South Main Neighborhood

Soon to be event location for Oxford American. Little Rock South Main District.

The Oxford American magazine recently purchased Juanita’s old space in downtown Little Rock, and this past Saturday they hosted an open house for the new location.

The majority of the magazine staff will continue to operate out of their offices at UCA in Conway and this location will serve as both a home base for the business office and an event location. Someday soon this front space (pictured above) will be used for Oxford American sponsored events and shows ranging from live music to art openings.  With its location just up the street from Community Bakery, the Root Cafe, Bernice Garden,  Boulevard Bread, and other South Main locations, it all sounds very promising.

We got there late in the day after most folks were already  gone, but this photo gives you a good example of the location’s potential.  If you’ve spent time in Little Rock you’ve probably seen many shows in this venue over the years, so it’s exciting the building will still be used for live music. Some of my favorite shows there were Southern Culture on the Skids and Victoria Williams.  What about you?

13th Annual Music Issue.

If you haven’t picked up a copy already, the annual Music Issue is out and this year features music from all over the state of Mississippi.  Check it out there.

Friday Video: Immokalee: A Story of Slavery and Freedom.

Lucas Benitez, ICW. From Yes! Magazine. Photo by Jeffrey Slater

Earlier this week we posted about Yes! Magazine’s Breakthrough Fifteen. One of the people profiled in the issue is Lucas Benitez, a man who helped to form the  Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW).  The Coalition works to fight modern-day slavery in the agricultural industry and organizes for better pay. They operate a low-power radio station, “Radio Conciencia”  as well as a co-op to give families access to affordable food.  They have also led hunger strikes and multiple marches.

From Yes!:

IW started in 1993 when Lucas and other workers got together to discuss working conditions. In 1995, they staged a weeklong protest that forced a grower to change his decision to lower pay. But an incident in 1996 galvanized Lucas and CIW. A teenage field worker had asked his foreman for a water break. The foreman refused; the worker stopped for a drink anyway. The foreman beat the worker brutally. Lucas helped spread news of the attack and more than 500 workers gathered in protest, waving the victim’s bloody shirt. The action grew to a boycott of the foreman lasting several weeks. In keeping with his belief in acting as an animator, Lucas was not the leader of this action. Instead, he used it as an opportunity to build confidence among the farmworkers in their own power and the power of collective action. Lucas keeps the teenager’s blood-stained shirt with him to this day.  To read the entire profile from Yes! go here.

This week’s Friday Video is a short documentary produced by Jeff Imig about the CIW and their fight against unfair wages and practices, including their effective boycott of Taco Bell.  The video highlights both their struggles and successes.

Yes! Magazine’s Breakthrough Fifteen: The Power of Storytelling, Vulnerability, and Community Action.

Henry Red Cloud, Yes! Magazine. Photo by Dan Bihn.

If you’re a frequent reader of the Boiled Down Juice, you know that Yes! Magazine is one of our favorite publications.  With the tag line  “powerful ideas, practical actions,” Yes! showcases and explores the concepts and people on the front lines of democracy, social innovation, and community action.  Back in November they issued their winter publication, The Breakthrough 15: The justice warriors, eco-innovators, happiness architects, and change artists who are shattering our sense of powerlessness.  

I recently picked up a copy (a little late, I know) of this special issue dedicated “to the power of the 99 percent—and to a group of people who aren’t looking for leadership from those with entrenched wealth and influence.”  The main goal of this special publication, Yes! claims, is to profile “a group of people who are shattering our sense of powerlessness.”

I especially love that the introductory essay, written by Madeline Ostrander, highlights the power of storytelling, noting that “personal stories remind us that others face the same difficulties and vulnerabilities we do. We discover our own power when we realize we aren’t alone.”  It’s this focus on difficulties and vulnerabilities I find particularly important.  Too often the media portrays activists as larger than life, endless whirlwinds of ideas and energy, when in reality they’re fragile humans who experience frustration and confusion just like anyone else.  Most importantly, their ideas and strategies have been forged within these frustrations and confusions.  We need more stories that illuminate this gray area between observation and action.

Ranging from the stories of Henry Red Cloud, the director of Lakota Solar Enterprises which provides renewable energy to poor Native American communities, to Lily Yeh, the founder of Barefoot Artists, an organization using the power of art to transform neighborhoods, the magazine is diverse collection of portraits of people recognizing and utilizing their skills in their own communities.

For the rest of the week we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the people featured and the work they’re doing.  Some of the people we’ve discussed before, such as the amazing work of Grace Lee Boggs, but some were new to us.

You can read all the profiles here on Yes!   Tell us if you’ve read this issue and what you enjoyed.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Friday Video: Alice Walker

From AALBC.

We’re back up and running with a Friday Video after a few weeks without a dependable computer.

This week’s video features poet, novelist, and activist, Alice Walker.  She’s most well known as the author of the novel The Color Purple and the person who saved Zora Neale Hurston from historical obscurity.  The name of this blog is drawn from a Zora Neale Hurston quote, and no doubt I’d never come across her work if it weren’t for the diligence of Walker, who revived her legacy and place a tombstone at her burial site.

A few years ago when working full time for public radio I had the opportunity to interview author Evelyn White about her then recent book, Alice Walker: A Life.   I’d loved Alice Walker for years—poured over Once during college and underlined 3/4 of the story “Everyday Use.”  But it wasn’t until I read her official biography that I began to fully comprehend the layers of Walker’s influence as author, social radical and freedom fighter. Walker is both loved and hated, lauded and discredited.  Her work brings out strong emotions, asking people to wrestle with questions of race, peace, environment, and self.  Her biography remains one of my favorite books of all time.

Yesterday ColorLines magazine posted this video, in honor of Walker’s 68th birthday.  It was originally released in 2010 by Google, but I’d never seen it until yesterday.  It’s full of timeless concepts, so it’s not dated.  It’s a long one, and I have not had a chance to get through the whole thing yet.  But what I’ve watched so far discusses her work in Gaza regarding International Women’s Day, her belief in the power and democracy of new media, and the importance of imagination in empathy and action.  She also talks about her “literary formothers,” including Hurston, her own mother, and others.

You can visit Walker’s blog here. 

If you have’t read it already, I highly reccomend her biography written by Evelyn White. 

The Seed and the Story for February 8, 2012: Origins of the Chickalah Name.

The Seed and the Story is a bi-weekly column exploring folklife, sustainability, oral history, human rights,and community in Yell County, Arkansas.   The column is published in the Post Dispatch and is syndicated in the Courier.  Please remember to support your local paper and independent media!

You can follow the Boiled Down Juice on Facebook and Twitter.  If you enjoy our posts, please tell a friend. And thanks for reading!

Update:  I originally listed the Highway as Highway 28 instead of Highway 27.  A reader from Chickalah corrected me.  Thanks so much!  This is what I get for working in a hurry due to computer problems.  But computer problems are fixed now.  Thanks so much! 

I’m very excited about the continued response from these recent columns on Chickalah.  Please excuse my delay in responding to emails.  Last week my computer, which has long since seen better days, crashed one last and final time.  Thanks to the generosity of some very dear friends, I’ll soon have a new (to me) computer with several nice upgrades!

In the past few weeks I’ve discussed the somewhat recent history of Chickalah (click here to read the first installment and here to read the second), but this week’s column will go back quite a bit further and explore what little we know about the community’s unique name.  I don’t about you, but as soon as I was old enough to read, those white letters on the green background of the sign on Highway 27 always intrigued me.  It’s a Native American name, but where did exactly did it come from?  And why don’t we pronounce it phonetically, I’ve always wondered.   How did it sound on the lips of the early settlers?  I don’t have any answers for these last two questions, but, of course, the word is full of places whose names ring quite differently from the lips of the residents than the sign might suggest.  One of my personal favorites is the Newton County community of Mount Judea, which is pronounced by locals as Mount Judy.

There are more mysteries to Chickalah’s Native American history than there are answers, and the sources we do have are, at best, fragmented and incomplete. Tribe members have long since left the area, forced out of this region, and most of the rest of the United States, by a host of factors, including what amounts to genocidal acts perpetuated by the U.S government to eradicate their presence in the area.  We do know, however, that the community’s name is a variation of Chikileh, the name of a Cherokee chief, who, according to researcher Samuel Dickenson, was “noted for his oratory.” Continue reading »

Things That Have Been Here Before: Vashti Bunyan

From Last FM.

This weekend I stumbled across the recordings of Vashti Bunyan.  I’d heard her name before, but until this weekend I’d never really sat down to listen to her music.  She’s amazing.  She’s everything people love about gardens, dusk,  bittersweet days, and the beauty and confusion of the human condition. “Autumn Tears,” the first song on the video below, is a near perfect song.

Born in London in 1945, she released her first album, Just Another Diamond Day in 1970 but soon left the music scene to live in the country and raise a family.  Her work always had a cult following and in recent years her influence has grown. I often rant about my issues with Pitchfork, but Matthew Murphy’s review of her newer album, Lookaftering  (quite possibly the best album title ever)  provides some great background information for those unfamiliar with her work.

Continue reading »